Neighbours describe chaos outside Duggan hall
Area residents say they heard screaming, gunshots fired early on Sunday morning
Neighbours described a chaotic scene outside a south Edmonton community hall early Sunday morning after a party ended in a shooting that killed one man and injured six others.
Residents who live near Duggan Community Hall said on Monday they heard gunshots and screaming as people ran to their vehicles and sped off, in some cases driving over the grass to get away. Others observed a heavy police presence through the night into the morning with multiple police vehicles and an ETS bus on site. Those Postmedia spoke to did not want to be identified due to the violent nature of the crime.
Mark Hammer has lived in the area for seven years and says overall it's been safe. While he didn't witness any of the night's events, he was troubled to learn someone was shot and killed nearby.
“It's really concerning, especially a kid,” he said, adding that regardless of the events that led up to the young man's shooting, “is it really worth somebody's life?”
Red plastic cups and empty bottles and cans littered the ground outside the hall, which was surrounded in yellow police tape Monday morning. A trail of blood was seen on the asphalt in the parking lot.
One officer on the scene Monday morning said there were between 200 and 300 people at the hall for a dance party Saturday night.
Multiple neighbours said they heard music playing at the hall through the late afternoon into the evening Saturday, and photos on social media show the parking lot was full and a nearby street was lined with vehicles.
Officers first responded to a call at the hall around 4 a.m. and found a man in his 20s dead inside the hall, police said in a news release Sunday.
Six other men were injured and treated by paramedics. One man was in serious condition and two others were in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The three other men were released after treatment.
A suspect was in custody but police haven't released the names of anyone involved, nor have they given details about the events leading up to the shooting.
Police didn't have any further updates Monday.
If this suspicious death is ruled a homicide, it will the 23rd in Edmonton this year. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.